1937 Big Car - Those Were the Days

Sprint Cars have been around since the 1920s, although they were known as Big Cars during those early years. These Big Cars might look decidedly different than Jason Meyers' 2010 World of Outlaws Championship winning Sprinter, but in reality many of the essential components have remained basically unchanged over the decades. Just take a look at this 1937 Big Car that carries a menacing look with that cold black paint and that circled number 2.

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This car was state of the art for the period sporting a Clyde Adams chassis and a Miller powerplant. The frame was built by hand, whereby fabricators would create bends and turns in the steel by pounding it into the desired shape over another piece of steel. The handformed chassis-building process gives the car a brutish appearance but, get this, it still weighs only about 1,200 pounds. Not only is that a figure that modern Sprint Cars attempt to achieve, but it made the car light enough that an in shape crewman could pick up any corner of the car.

Steve Truchan of Hobart, Indiana, currently is the keeper of this racing treasure. Truchan's family has owned the car for most of its existence and he assures that the next generation will take over the tending duties down the road. Steve's dad bought the car in 1938 in practically-new condition and campaigned it through 1941.

3/19The front axle is far in front of the radiator for weight balance reasons which enabled higher weight on the rear tires. There is also a capability to tighten down the rear cross spring to triagulate the weight on each corner of the car. You could best describe it as a crude wedge adjustment.

"Dad drove it a bunch and won many races during those years," explains Truchan. "He won a lot at the long-gone Hammand (IN) Speedway. He was also successful at another Hoosier track, Jungle Park Speedway, with his biggest win being an AAA Big Car race in 1941."

The car then sat for many years before the decision was made by the family to restore it. And what a job was done! The Miller engine was in parts, but that didn't present a problem. You see, the family had restored many Offy engines which were very similar to this powerplant. So without any further ado, let's check out the hows and whys of this magnificent vintage machine.